Rauchbier | Southern Star Brewing Company

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16 oz can into a pint glass. Big thanks to armok for this. I guess normally this is only available on draft but a bit was canned and given to select accounts as samples. I'm looking forward to trying this.

Pours a hazy straw colored gold with several fingers of poofy eggshell colored head. Thin creamy layer of retention leaves some spotty lacing behind. The aroma is WOW!, straight up smoked meats, literally smelling like bacon in a frying pan. I like the aggresive smoked smell this is putting off. I'm not picking up much else besides just some residual sweet tones underneath.

The taste switches places, with sweeter malts bringing most of the flavor this time and a pervasive smokey malt feel that winds in and out the sweetness. Pretty low bitterness in this, maybe just a touch in the back. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a lower feeling carbonation that still manages to stay crisper in the mouth.

Nice. I'm a fan of smoked malt in my beers and this seemed pretty darned spot on for the Rauchbier style. I wish they would can this on a regular basis, as I would definitely trade for some more.

T- lots of smoky campfire up front with hints of smoked cured ham, biscuit malt mixes with smoked peat flavors, charred wood and light apple flavor. The finish is dry, with a linger of band aid and smoke

500mL bottle into a Willis glass. I picked this up without even looking at who brewed this because I really enjoy Rauchbiers and there aren't many I come across, and the label looked inherently German. Surprised to noticed Southern Star once I got home. Shame this isn't in a can. Anywho...

Pours an orange color, some clarity, somewhat hazy. Soapy finger of tan color, dissipated quickly. The aroma was meaty, with more of a ham note and a bit of backing malt sweetness. Not very complex, but pleasant. Smoky notes on the taste, but ample malt sweetness up front that sort of take away from the smoke, making the smoke a bit muddled. Body was on the medium side at best, with a slight prickly bit of carbonation.. High drinkability, but could really use a more smoky smell and flavor to make this a real Rauch treat. Worth trying though as its not a style that is typically inundated and its more that decent.

This has to be the most odd beer that I have ever tasted. I passed it around the table just to see what others thought. I got various descriptions. Smoked salmon, bacon, and salami were the words that they used. It smells like smoked meat it tastes like smoked meat. This may be the Rauchbier style. So if you are looking for that in your beer, this is the one. If not, I would look for something else to sip on.

500 mL bottle pours a light gold color with a fizzy white cap that fades quick and leaves little lace. Fairly hazy too, I must say this one does not have many attributes that would lend a high appearance score.

Nose is heavy on the smoke, which is very good. Ham hocks, bacon and campfires all come to mind. Just a notch or two below Schlenkerla if you ask me…

Smoke is a little lighter on the flavor than Id hoped, but it still has some terrific smokiness and meaty flavors. The grain is maybe a little too light, the mouthfeel suffers a bit because of it, I fear. This is definitely not quite up to the standards set by my homies in Bamburg. There is not a whole lot of complexity here, but the smoke flavors are nice and the beer maintains a clean, graininess all the way through. I could drink a lot of this, but not at the price point it is at currently - can this shit and sell it for $8 a four-pack….fine, but don’t charge $6 a pint for it.

This one pours a perfect dark and cloudy golden color. THe head is extremely lively and rich as well. The head is very long lived, creamy, slightly off white and leaves a nice thick and complex lacing down the glass.

The nose has a definite hint of smoke floating on top of a fruity malt foundation with hints of apples, grass, pine, earth and bread in the mix.

The taste is rather good and has a very pleasant palate coating experience that is dry malt and has nice smokey flavors throughout. There are notes of vanilla, citrus, mesquite and hickory with a nice crisp clean finish.

The mouthfeel is superb and effervescent giving this a nice crisp nose and flavor experience.

Overall, exceptional. This is a keeper and will be in my fridge again.

this brew pours up a clear golden color with a small white head. the nose is straight smoked pork sausage. the taste is very smokey, smoked meat, subtle sweet malts, faint hops. medium bodied, low carbo, very smoothe. A very sessionable Rauchbier. But that raises the question: Is it possible to buy a sixer of a Rauchbier and sit and enjoy? Can one person really enjoy drinking a light, easy smoked pork-flavored beer as a session? I dunno...

Appearance = my first serving was brought to my table about ten minutes after I ordered it so my had a slight ring of lace with very minimal carbonation. A honeyish golden hue with patches of lace as I drink it down.
The second serving I got right away and it had around an inch of head on it, with nice flowing streams of very small bubbles.

Aroma = Sweet bacon aromas, with hints of grainy malt. Smoke aroma seems really complex it reminds me of ancho and chipotle peppers as well as the bacon.

Flavor = The flavor of the smoke is right up front with out being overwhelming, the sugary malt jumps in to clean things up as soon as the smoke starts to linger. I didnt get any strong hop flavors.

M/D = The mouthfeel is nice and creamy after the carbonation dies off a little, other than the appearance the first one I got was a lot more pleasing and complex. I had three of these in one session along side the bratwurst plate and it was one of the most enjoyable things I have experienced as far as a food and beer pairing.

Atmosphere is really nice. Bubbly white head, lots of carbonation. No lacing. Nose is malty and smoky... not much else. Light malt, with a nice hop, all wrapped up in a nice smoky blanket. Overall, this is a good quaff.

A: Pours a golden yellow color. A small white head forms and leaves some patchy lace.
S: Roasted malt and smoked meat. Not much to it, but interesting.
T: Lots of roasted and caramel malt. A semi sweet flavor, plenty of smoked flavor to go around.
M/D: A medium body that is over carbonated for my tastes. An easy beer to drink though. Something I could session, even at the almost 7% abv.

I enjoyed this at the brewery for the Oktoberfest party. Not bad at all, but I think I need to be more familiar with the style. I hope to try some more of this in the near future.